Final Days
by CassieJonesTheThird
Summary: A really sad ending to the first hunger games book . also my first story


**My heart was pounding as I ran for my life. So many things were trying to murder me. Mutts. Other tributes. The final four. What an interesting mix. Peeta, Clove, Cato, and I. I scale a tree and I'm in the top in less than 5 minutes. I see someone dart away beneath me, and my breathing stops. A closer look at the huddled figure lets me see that the person hunched over and vomiting below me is none other than my fellow 12 tribute. Peeta. He looks up and I can see he mouths the words "Help Me". I scramble to climb down the tree, when he points behind him. Clove. Her strong hand is clutching a razor-sharp dagger with a serrated edge. Her face was bloodied and yet extremely pale as she screamed to run. I jumped out of the 40 foot tree and crashed into Peeta. I am just regaining my strength when Clove lands the knife into my leg. I try to walk, but cry out in pain instead. "Peeta!" I say, "Help!". Peeta turns around for he's already began running away. He dashes toward me and Clove lets loose another blade that flies into Peeta's chest. As I try to scream, I realize what they were running from. A giant wall of fire is racing toward me. I gasp. The knife is still deeply lodged in my leg. I yank it out sharply. Blood flies everywhere. I am sure I will die when my vision fades into black. Suddenly, through the fog that seems to be clogging my senses, I feel someone pick me up.**

**I wake to find myself once again in a tree. My leg is bandaged and feels like it is up in flames. I quickly scan my surroundings to see if anyone is above or below me. Clear. I have nothing to get myself down except an empty drawstring bag. Only one thing left to do. The nearest treetop is close but not too close. I could probably make it if my leg wasn't impaled by bone-cutting steel. I looked up and begged to the sky, "Water, medicine, cream," I cried "Anything!". As I lost all hope, a teeny tiny little package floated to my hands. I twisted the air-tight seal and found it to be some sort of ointment in the pot. I took a generous amount on my fingertips and liberally applied it to my infected wound. I let out a yelp as it first increased my pain, but then a sigh as the flesh turned a cool pink instead of the angry red. I leaned my head back and looked above at the cool grey sky for a moment. **_**How wonderful it would be to be a bird. So free and careless. **_**I quickly got back on track to jumping the tree. I stood up, bracing myself on the thick trunk, and mentally prepared myself to leap. **

**1**

**2**

**3**

_**I can't. I won't make it. **_**I sit back down. I slowly lean over the branch and look down at the ground. **_**I can see someone. **_**It's true. There is someone sleeping below. I don't know how long I've been asleep and if anyone has died in the time. There is a branch a good distance below me and I think I can jump to it. I lay stomach down on the thick branch and flip so I'm clinging for life. I ease my legs of the branch so I'm holding on to it with my hands. I let go with one hand and with the other, I grip the trunk. I swing my drawstring bag off my shoulder and around the trunk. I tighten my legs around the trunk and in a split second, grab my bag with my other hand. Now, I am holding myself up by my legs and holding my drawstring bag as a rope. I inch down the trunk until I feel my feet touch the branch. I sit down and take a breather. I am now close enough to see what is happening below. Clove is curled up next to… is that… Peeta?**

**I can't believe my eyes. **_**Whatever, **_**I tell myself, **_**they're probably freezing cold. **_**Or the last two tributes. Or not. Cato walks up to them with a knife in hand. "No!" I shout, unaware of my volume. Clove and Peeta's eyes shoot open as Cato looks up to me in the tree. "Look who it is" Cato sneers "the girl on fire" I am so dead.**

**Instead of launching his knife at me, Cato just stares. Clove and Peeta stand up and are on either side of him. He puts his weapon in his mouth and with gritted teeth he says "I'll deal with you two later.'' Peeta and Clove exchange a worried look. Cato walks up to the tree and begins to climb. In quick thinking, I jump into a pond on the other side of the tree. I surfaced and ran as fast as I could with my bad leg. Cato is so stupid that he didn't see me. He is halfway up the tree when he notices I'm not there. Peeta points at me and him and Clove sprint to catch up with me. After a few minutes, I start to feel a sitch in my side. My eyes are watering from running into the wind. My hair a reckless mess in my face. I look behind me in a quick second. No one there. I hear a jolting shriek that brings me to my senses. It belongs to Clove.**

**Not three seconds later, a cannon fires. The brush rustles behind me.**

"**Katniss," sings a voice.**

"**Come out…".**

**I am scared out of my skin so I take the biggest stick I can find and RUN. It's not Cato who jumps out of the ivy plant, but Peeta. I stop short and flip around. He throws his arms around me and we share a grateful but desperate embrace. "Quick," he says, "Cato's after us. And he's mad". **_**How nice**_**, I think, ** _**Just what we need, a power hungry district 2 tribute.**_ **We sprint again and stop at a massive oak tree. I can climb it, but I can't be too sure about Peeta. He gives me a look and I know what he's thinking. "No. There is no way I'm letting you go without me" I say.**

"**Yes you will, Katniss"**

"**Peeta Mellark"**

"**Yes ma'am"**

"**If I have to drag you up this tree, then so be it. I would rather you do that than be eaten alive by Cato"**

**He takes note of my sincere expression and decides to follow me. I give him two of my steel arrows that could hopefully hold his weight. I can use my bare hands. I slowly reach for the first limb, some 6 feet off the ground. With my long arms, I can reach it if I jump. Peeta jams his arrows into the trunk and lifts himself. So far, so good. We both make it to the fifth branch and by now, we are exhausted. We are only about fifty feet off the ground but it will do for the night. **

**Once we are belted in, I ask a question,**

"**So what was that with Clove back there?"**

**He looks at me with a blank stare.**

"**W-what do you mean?"**

**Wow. I thought he would at least tell me the truth. **

"**You are a bad liar. A very bad liar."**

"**Okay, okay. After I managed to get you to safety in the tree, you're welcome by the way, I fell. Hard. I fell to the branches below, and was out cold. I woke up confused and Clove was like, petting me. I did not do that on purpose, I swear."**

**Something clicked in my head. I don't know what made me do it, but I brushed his cheek with my fingertips and**

**Kissed him. And the worst thing was, he kissed me back. It must have been that the end of our lives was drawing near. I rested my head on his shoulder and we fell asleep clinging to each other.**

**I woke up first. I shook Peeta to try and wake him. He wasn't moving. Or… breathing. I checked his pulse. **

**None.**

"**No. No no no no no no" this is not happening. "Peeta!" I sob, "wake up! You have to!" My heart breaks in two. The tears come thick and fast. I forget that I'm in a tree for a brief second, and begin to fall. My hand makes contact with the trunk in the nick of time. I crouched over Peeta and my ribs ached with the wrenching sobs my body was doing. I just want this to be all over. I just want it to be over. I just want it to be over. Before I can even think, the knife is in my grip. The sharp edge is crusted over with blood and mud. I close my eyes. I try and think of the happiest moment of my life. My father. We would go fishing and hunting together, not a care in the world. I think of Prim and my mother. How they need me. Gale could easily take over them. I think of Peeta's family and how even his mother is devastated that her beautiful son is now dead lying in a treetop. I think of Gale. How he must miss me. He would hate to see me do what I'm about to do. I take the knife and push it to my chest just enough for it to hurt. I press the tip into the middle of my sternum. I feel warm blood leak out onto my tribute uniform. After about an hour, I feel lightheaded. Dizzy. I lay my head on Peeta's dead body and drift off to sleep. My life flashes before my eyes as I relive the reaping, the first night in the games, passing out in the fog and waking up in the tree. Kissing Peeta, even though that was only last night. I think of how much my family will miss me. I want to leave this world. I also think I'm being selfish. It's too late. I feel life slipping from my grip as I succumb to the darkness. I try to open my eyes but I don't seem to have the strength to. I move my hand to Peeta's and grasp it gently. I know that all eyes are on me for the Capitol loves spying. I make out my last word.**

"**Goodbye"**


End file.
